Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- A federal district judge denied motions by Notre Dame and the federal government to dismiss a lawsuit to force the school to provide free contraceptives and abortifacient drugs in its health plans.
- A Michigan state judge sentenced the Rev. Brian Stanley to sixty days in jail for attempted false imprisonment after he wrapped a teenager in bubble wrap and tape in a janitor room.
- Pope Francis named Francesca Di Giovanni under-secretary in the Section for Relations with States, making her the first woman to hold a high-ranking post in the Secretariat of State.
- Three Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia received suspended sentences of up to two and a half years for participating in a religion banned for extremism.
- A recent study found that a 2016 Texas law, concerning minors’ ability to request permission from a judge to obtain an abortion, decreased the number of times judges granted permission to minors to procure an abortion.